The Town of Christchurch by-election of 1856 was a by-election held in the Town of Christchurch electorate during the 2nd New Zealand Parliament, on 18 November 1856. The by-election was caused by the resignation of incumbent MP Henry Sewell and was won by Richard Packer. Packer had been invited to stand for election in the 1855 election, but he had declined the requisition because of the popularity of Sewell, the incumbent. Sewell resigned on 16 August 1856, the final day of the first session of the 2nd New Zealand Parliament. This was in preparation of his departure for England. Sewell was a member of the first Stafford Ministry and had agreed with Stafford to remain in Auckland, where the seat of Parliament was at the time, so that Stafford could attend to business in his home town Nels